


With Love to Spare

by vivelarepublique



Category: Shoujo Kakumei Utena | Revolutionary Girl Utena
Genre: Date Night, Established Relationship, F/F, Fluff, Homoerotic bowling instruction anyone?, Post-Series, bowling
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-09
Updated: 2019-09-09
Packaged: 2020-10-13 00:36:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,028
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20573555
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vivelarepublique/pseuds/vivelarepublique
Summary: It's Juri's turn to choose her and Nanami's date night activity, and Nanami isn't thrilled with Juri's plans... But maybe it isn't such a bad idea, after all.Set post-series, where Juri and Nanami are both in their 30's and now dating.





	With Love to Spare

It’s Friday afternoon and Nanami is sitting by the coffee table, staring at an array of paint swatches. If she has to see one more variant on “Eggshell,” she’s going to break something. The table is spared as she is pleasantly distracted by the sight of her girlfriend joining her in the living room. Juri still isn’t dressed yet, clad in a sleek silk robe that matches her hair. She sets a fresh cup of coffee down on the table for Nanami as she sits down on the armchair beside her, sipping on her own cup. 

“Did you still want to go out tonight?” Juri asks.

Nanami perks up immediately. “Of course! Did you have something specific in mind?” She takes a drink of her coffee and can’t help but smile. Juri knows exactly how she likes hers. 

“I do, actually,” Juri smiles. She sets her coffee cup down, and gets up from her chair. Paint swatches long forgotten, Nanami watches her leave the room and come back with a box, wrapped in pale yellow paper with a small white bow on top. Juri hands it to her before dropping a quick kiss to the crown of Nanami’s head. “A hint of what’s to come.”

Nanami has never quite seen Juri’s eyes twinkle in such a way. She quirks an eyebrow, and deftly opens the package to find a shoe box. She opens the lid to find a pair of soft pink Chanel sneakers. She puzzles the gift a few beats before looking over at Juri.

“They’re lovely, but, Juri, in case you haven’t noticed, I have plenty of shoes, sneakers included.”

The excitement in Juri’s eyes is almost tangible. “I am well aware, as half of them have ended up at my apartment. But these are bowling shoes.”

“Bowling shoes?” Nanami repeats.

“Bowling shoes,” Juri affirms.

Nanami carefully sets the shoes down and turns toward Juri. “I know it’s your turn to plan our date night, but I _ cannot _ go bowling.”

“I knew you would never rent the shoes, but it’s fine, because now you have some. And before you ask, you can borrow one of my balls so you don’t have to worry about that either.”

“You really thought everything through, didn’t you?" 

Juri smiles. “I know you. I rented out the alley for us for the night.” 

Nanami takes out one of the shoes and contemplates it with a small pout. “They _ are _ kind of cute...”

“Not as cute as you.” 

“You’re getting what you want anyway, no need to flatter me,” Nanami huffs, unable to keep the fondness out of her voice. Her indignancy is even harder to maintain when Juri leans forward for a kiss. The shoe fall unceremoniously back in the box, where it would stay for the next few hours.

* * *

“Remind me again why I let you make me do this,” Nanami says as she laces up her bowling shoes in the (thankfully) empty bowling alley. Juri already has her shoes on and is arranging a variety of different colored balls on the ball return.

“Here, I’ve arranged the balls by weight. You can test them out and see which you’d feel most comfortable with.” Juri says, a tinge of pride in her voice. Nanami hasn’t seen her geek out this much since she’d bought her a new espresso maker.

“So the aim in bowling is to knock down as many of the ten pins as you can in one frame,” Juri begins. “You get two chances. It’s all about aim and power.” With a flourish, she picks up an orange bowling ball and steadies it with her long fingers. 

Nanami watches as Juri seems to transform: her shoulders square and her gaze focuses on the lane in front of her. With a few swift strides, her arm swings and she lets the ball loose, arm extended in front of her like the final pose of a dance. The ball rolls straight down the middle of lane and knocks all ten pins down in one fell blow. She seems to sparkle as she turns back to Nanami. “That,” she breathes, an excited flush spread across her cheeks, “is called a strike.” 

Nanami gulps, and takes a sip of the cold beer Juri had brought for them, ignoring the flush on her own cheeks that is certainly not from the alcohol. “That doesn’t seem too difficult.” She stands and strides her way over to the bowling balls. It is remarkable how many Juri has, but after getting a feel for a few of them, she finally settles on a 13-pound light green ball. 

“Do you need help getting started?” Juri offers.

“I’ve got it,” Nanami says, as she almost drops the ball on her own foot trying to get a hold of it. She catches herself with what she thinks is a remarkable amount of grace and steps up onto the wooden approach. The way her shoes slightly slide is unnerving, and she fumbles slightly getting her fingers to grip the ball. She squares her own shoulders, steps forward, and lets the ball fly out of her hand...and straight into the gutter with a decidedly undignified _ clunk._

She freezes for a moment, her right arm still held aloft in front of her, as the ball slowly makes its way down the side of the lane until it falls behind the pins.

Nanami turns back around slowly to where Juri is standing. 

“I didn’t hit the pins.”

“But you get another ball!” Juri says earnestly. Nanami is reminded suddenly of how much of a jock her girlfriend is. “You can always try a different weight, too.”

Nanami goes back to the ball return just as the green ball clicks back into line. She ponders trying it again, before switching to slightly heavier pink one instead. The green one was simply too much of a lightweight, she decides. 

“This one feels much better,” she declares, as she steps back up onto the wood. She takes a longer start this time before letting the ball loose, and watches it drive diagonally down the right hand side of the lane...and into the gutter.

“Your form was much better that time!” Juri says when Nanami turns around. 

“Thanks, love,” she sighs, “It’s your turn.”

The thing is, when Nanami sees Juri bowl she cannot bring herself to feel any sort of anger or jealousy. Her younger self would have been scheming something that may or may not have involved animals, but now she was in her 30s, her energy was put towards much more pragmatic uses. 

It also helps that she’s much too busy enjoying the view of Juri’s toned arms and butt to feel truly competitive.

“You’re up,” Juri says. Nanami blinks and looks at the score. Sure enough, another strike.

Nanami stands and grabs the pink ball again, making her way to the center of the lane. Then, as if struck by some divine inspiration, she squats and swings the ball down between her legs, lining it up with the center arrow before propelling it at full force down the lane. The ball loses speed halfway down and begins to swerve off track before knocking over a single pin on the far right hand edge. 

“HA!” Nanami jumps from her squat up into the air with a fist pump. “See that, I got one!”

Nanami turns around and finds that Juri most certainly _ did _see her throw, and is doubled over in silent laughter. 

“Okay, my method may not be as impressive as yours, but it worked better than before!” Nanami huffs.

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t laugh...But that was just too cute,” Juri rights herself. “I’ve never seen anyone other than a kid do that.”

“Are you calling me old,_ senpai?” _

“Mm, I’m your senpai now, eh?” Juri quirks an eyebrow. “Then let me help you with your form.” Juri smirks and Nanami’s heart skips a beat as the woman picks up her bowling ball and brings it up to where Nanami is still standing. The days where Juri towered above her are long since past, and when she stands behind Nanami now, Juri seems to be at the perfect height to whisper in Nanami’s ear. 

“First, slide your thumb, ring, and middle fingers into the three holes,” Juri says, holding the ball as Nanami adjusts her grip. “There, now you can support the ball’s weight with your other hand.” Nanami tries not to pout as Juri’s arms fall away from beside her as she uses her left hand to help hold the ball." 

“Okay, so I’ve got a good grip on it now.”

“You don’t want to grip the holes too tightly,” Juri continues. “If you do, the ball won’t slide off easily when you try to roll it.”

“So my fingers should be nice and loose in the holes, not too far in.”

“Yes, precisely,” Juri’s hand comes up to where Nanami is holding the ball. “Now try stretching your fingers. You still want a bit of distance between the ball and your hand.” 

Nanami pivots the ball and flexes her fingers deftly. She glances over at Juri to find her brow slightly furrowed as she focuses on Nanami’s form. 

“Yes, perfect. Now for the swing itself. Don’t release the ball just yet, but let me show you how to move.” 

Nanami feels Juri shift against her, her left hand on Nanami’s waist and her right hand over Nanami’s own. She can feel Juri’s breath against the short hairs at the back of her neck.

“You’re going to step with your left hand and bring the ball up to your chest,” Juri begins. “Then, swing the ball back with your right hand,” and at this Juri guides Nanami’s hand back, and then guides her arm forward again, “and you’ll release it forward, aiming your thumb where you want the ball to go. It will be the last finger to leave the ball when you throw. Does that make sense?”

“Mm, yes,” Nanami replies eloquently. Juri’s hand slides off her own, her other lingering an extra second on her waist. 

This time, Juri is certainly trying to fluster Nanami as she leans in to whisper into her ear, “Just aim like you have been and you’ve got this.” 

Juri steps back and Nanami’s heart begins to settle into something resembling normal. This whole experience is making her feel like a teenager again, but without all the brother issues, which is frankly, refreshing. She takes a deep breath and remembers Juri’s own stance, feels her hands on her, guiding her. 

The ball is hefty but light in her hands as she steps forward, pulls back and lets it go. This time it rolls headfirst into the remaining pins, setting off a reaction that knocks down all the rest with a satisfying clatter. She cheers and turns to Juri running up and encircling her in a hug. 

“A spare!! Well done, Nanami!” Juri is beaming, her curls slightly frizzy from the physical activity, and Nanami is overwhelmed by fondness and love. She pulls away from the other woman ever so slightly to better lean down and kiss her. 

“It’s only because I had such a good teacher,” Nanami purrs as she finally pulls away, reveling in the slightly flustered look on Juri’s face.

“Well, you are an excellent student." 

“Hm, I’d wager there’s a few things I could teach you before the night is out,” Nanami winks, hands sliding down Juri’s sides. Juri brings her hand up to stroke Nanami’s cheek. Nanami can’t help but sigh into the touch. 

Juri leans in and whispers, “As long as you leave the bowling instruction to me.” 

Nanami laughs, a light airy sound. “I’ll leave that in your more than capable hands.” She places a kiss to Juri’s palm for good measure. “Now, I believe it is your turn.”

When all is said and done, Juri bowls an almost perfect game, and Nanami is just happy to hit one hundred. But between the glow that Juri gets from playing and the many ideas for their next date night Nanami is left with, she really can’t complain.

**Author's Note:**

> This fic would literally not have been possible without inspiration from the true captain of the glorious ship that is Juri/Nanami, Fukiko. This is one of many ideas we bantered back and forth about on Discord. Now to fill the ship tag with more fic and bring over more people to the cause...
> 
> I was in part finally motivated to write this when I found [this pair of Chanel bowling shoes](https://www.tradesy.com/i/chanel-pink-weekender-light-canvas-lace-up-bowling-sneakers-size-eu-375-approx-us-75-regular-m-b/25273899/) on Google. They do in fact exist. Rich people, man. All bowling info taken from various bowling websites, Wikihow, and my own random bowling experiences. Comments are so very welcome, please join me on this tiny but incredible ship.


End file.
